Department of Basic Education bans Free and Open Source Software in SA Schools

GlacieredPyro

GlacieredPyro

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This a bit shocking to say the least.

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This is a shocking embarrassment to our nation. Last year, then the DBE failed to ensure textbook distribution to certain schools in Limpopo, the press (correcly) went into a feeding frenzy. This is a bigger issue, because it disadvantages every school child in the nation, creates a whole generation of technology slavery, and denies school learners the opportunity to learn programming technologies that are ACTUALLY IN USE. The decision to implement Delphi is a bit like mandating Latin as the language for literature. The press will probably not go into a feeding frenzy because the IT disaster is less obvious to the uninformed than the much less important text book debacle.
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This is from a Pam Miller in the comments section

Hi

The title of the article is not quite correct.
The circular is about 2 matric subjects in South Africa schools, CAT and IT.
For CAT the DBE has indicated that only MS Office 2010 and 2013 may be used in the matric exam. For IT the DBE has limited the programming language to Delphi.
Schools may use open source software ANYWHERE except in the CAT Gr 12 exam where they are limited to Office 2010 and 2013. Government schools are able to get Microsoft Office for FREE if their provincial education departments are doing their work. Schools can get Delphi FREE as well. The matric exam paper for IT will require knowledge of Delphi.
Nothing has been ‘banned’ as in the article title.
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and Ian Barbour

Some facts may help. There are only 3 schools in the country who use open source to teach CAT. They will now have to change to using MS Office 2010 or 2013. 3 schools only. There are hundreds who still use MS Office 2003 & 2007 and they will be impacted as well - but the focus above seems to be on the 3 schools because it is seen as anti open source.

The directive DOES NOT ban open source in schools. We don't need to lobby Parliament and write position papers. It only relates to the grade 12 learners who take CAT and who must now submit their Practical Assessment Task (PAT) in MS Office 2010 or 2013 format.

44555 grade 12 learners took CAT in 2012 and each one submits their PAT for external moderation to the DBE. Currently there is no prescribed format for these files so it just seems practical for the DBE to standardised on a format, as each of these PATs need to be individually opened and marked and then moderated.

The way I see it is this: The decision on which Office package to use was given to the schools. In 2012 - 43% used MS Office 2010; 43% used MS Office 2007; and 16% used MS Office 2003. Less than 1% (3 schools in fact) used open source to teach CAT. The decision is now taken away from the schools.

The DBE in circular S9/2013 states that "the DBE will only use Microsoft Office to respectively implement the CAT curriculum and assess CAT as part of the NSC examinations".

Notice they say "the DBE will use" and it does NOT ban or forbid the school in using FOSS (as seems to be implied above) for anything or in any way in the running of the school.
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A lot of you guys are too quick to jump on the government bashing bandwagon :(

I'm not sure if the quoted comments are right but I do think it's worth checking out before believing that government is taxing software that they have to pay for schools to have... seriously wtf :confused:
 
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reedOsama said:
This is from a Pam Miller in the comments section
and Ian Barbour

A lot of you guys are too quick to jump on the government bashing bandwagon :(

I'm not sure if the quoted comments are right but I do think it's worth checking out before believing that the government is colluding with Microsoft... seriously wtf :wtf:
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I have decided to remove my first post as I may have overreacted somewhat and gone on a tirade. What I will say is that I do agree with reedOsama's post and that the blog post is written in way too in an over the top negative manner which is unnecessary.
 
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DieGrootH@mmer said:
I have decided to remove my first post as I may have overreacted somewhat and gone on a tirade. What I will say is that I do agree with reedOsama's post and that the blog post is written in way too in an over the top negative manner which is unnecessary.
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Sigh, you toned down the passion :p

I wanted to add to your comment, but never mind.

Can anyone in IT give their opinion on Delphi! Is going from Java to Delphi a good or bad thing... does it even make a difference?

I'm not learned enough in IT to say anything about this :o
 
czc said:
Open source software is piracy, remember that?
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I use Apache open office at home for everything, then when I get to work and have to put a database and spreadsheet together I lose my shit because I have now clue WTF I am doing, and this is still on Office 2003 running on Windows Server 2003. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻).
 
Call me nuts, but I don't think that this is such a dramatic turn of events. For starters, MS Office is the most widely used office program in companies across South Africa. By ensuring that all pupils get access to MS Office, you're ensuring that they can prepare themselves for what's waiting in the real world. As for programming - hell gents, when I was in High School a long time ago, we programmed in Turbo Pascal.

Does anyone still program in Pascal? No. So was my school "wrong" for using Pascal in its subject? No. The reason being that it was simply used to give you a programming mind-set. To teach you HOW to think when you're programming. It's basically an introduction to programming at high school level. So to get upset at the language they use in High School is a bit daft, since the REAL programming languages are learned at Varsity, college or during on-the-job training.

So chillax guys.
 
It does seem a little backwards as java is the industry language right now, and highly sought after. However, like Neo said, they're teaching kids to program, and all programming is pretty much the same. I learnt using Visual Basic which also has a simple GUI builder, but never ever use that any more. You probably find Delphi is easier to grasp than java, especially with a GUI. (Never used Delphi myself)

What is CAT? We only had Computer Science or something when I was at school.
 
Ok so it's not that bad, just a standardisation restriction and not a ban. Makes sense, makes teaching and marking easier.

However can you really blame the guys here for climbing onto the anti-government bandwagon given the ANCs history and the article we were given?
 
I think many people miss the point here.

Besides the fact that MS office is still the most used in the country.
We are talking about schools that in so many cases can barely afford a computer centre. Schools that aren't even receiving their textbooks never mind a technology grant.

When you enforce Delphi and Office you also enforce Windows which comes with a hefty price tag.
Whereas Java and Libre Office can run on very cheap linux machines, think rasberry pie, at no cost for the software and super cheap hardware.

Enforcing arciach programming languages is also wrong. Regardless of further education. It teaches you crappy standards.
I learnt pascal in school which was even worse. It has a knock on effect. The Basic education department is retarded. They were unable to mark my final computer studies project (which takes one year mind you) because it was too complex and I had to re-do it in a week. In the language that they pre-scribed mind you. I wonder what the motive was behind this...
 
GlacieredPyro said:
I think many people miss the point here.

Besides the fact that MS office is still the most used in the country.
We are talking about schools that in so many cases can barely afford a computer centre. Schools that aren't even receiving their textbooks never mind a technology grant.

When you enforce Delphi and Office you also enforce Windows which comes with a hefty price tag.
Whereas Java and Libre Office can run on very cheap linux machines, think rasberry pie, at no cost for the software and super cheap hardware.
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GlacieredPyro said:
Enforcing arciach programming languages is also wrong. Regardless of further education. It teaches you crappy standards.
I learnt pascal in school which was even worse. It has a knock on effect. The Basic education department is retarded. They were unable to mark my final computer studies project (which takes one year mind you) because it was too complex and I had to re-do it in a week. In the language that they pre-scribed mind you. I wonder what the motive was behind this...
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Hehehe, this is quite funny because your points kinda oppose each other:

Java = Office
Delphi = Linux/freeware

So you think that they shouldn't enforce the use of Office which like Java is the industry standard

and they should be able to use Linux which is a more archaic... just like Delphi (I might get a lot of slack for saying that but all I'm saying is that Linux/freeware is more bare-bones than Windows/Office)

Schools also get their software free, so I really don't see what the problem is.
 
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reedOsama said:
Hehehe, this is quite funny because your points kinda oppose each other:

Java = Office
Delphi = Linux/freeware

So you think that they shouldn't enforce the use of Office which like Java is the industry standard

and they should be able to use Linux which is a more archaic... just like Delphi (I might get a lot of slack for saying that but all I'm saying is that Linux is more bare-bones than Windows)
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I might not have communicated my point correctly then.
Java might be closer to a standard but that was besides the point i was trying to make.
Java's IDE's and runtime are supported on almost any device out there, I might be mistaken but I don't think the same is true for delphi compilers.
My sticking point here is forcing a dependency on paid for software by choice of tools which so many institutions simply cannot afford.

Also Linux is by no means archiac. Amazon EC2 is there due to massive demand. Linux is not what it was 5 years ago. An out the box install can give a similar user experience to a windows environement and within the given context it can do all the same things with no added complexity.
 
markface said:
What is CAT? We only had Computer Science or something when I was at school.
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CAT's like computer literacy... learning how use excel, word documents, the internet etc.

I'm pretty sure the point of it is to know your way around a PC, the basic stuff. Therefore it would kinda be counterproductive to be teaching Linux when all your workplaces are using Windows -_-

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GlacieredPyro said:
I might not have communicated my point correctly then.
Java might be closer to a standard but that was besides the point i was trying to make.
Java's IDE's and runtime are supported on almost any device out there, I might be mistaken but I don't think the same is true for delphi compilers.
My sticking point here is forcing a dependency on paid for software by choice of tools which so many institutions simply cannot afford.

Also Linux is by no means archiac. Amazon EC2 is there due to massive demand. Linux is not what it was 5 years ago. An out the box install can give a similar user experience to a windows environement and within the given context it can do all the same things with no added complexity.
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I think the CAT thing makes perfect sense. CAT is perfect for the day to day use of a computer and let's be honest... your average person doesn't know what the hell Linux is. Also schools get Office software free.

  • The dropping of the provision for open source software seems to be contrary to the government’s declaration that state departments use open source unless they can show reason why open source products will not work. Many school systems around the world are seeing the benefits of using open source. Learners are using Android and iOS on their handheld devices – why shouldn’t they be exposed to using other operating systems, such as Ubuntu?
  • Many schools currently teaching CAT will not have the funding to move from MS Office 2003, MS Office 2007 or LibreOffice to the versions prescribed in the circular, and so could drop the subject. This could mean the numbers of learners taking CAT will start to decrease – and SA desperately needs IT-literate citizens.
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The Delphi thing is a little more complicated:

  • Teachers currently in training might have to change the programming language they are being taught mid-stream.
  • Teachers in those schools where Java is being taught will need to be retrained during 2014 so that they are ready to teach Delphi in Grade 11 in 2015. Some may resist, as they know they will be retiring in the next year or so. Who will provide this training?
  • Many schools have had problems with sustaining IT as a subject. This from a cost perspective and also from the difficulty they have had in finding a suitably qualified teacher. They may decide that enough is enough and decide to start phasing the subject out from next year. In other words, this year’s Grade 10 class could be their last class. This could severely impact on the subject in the rural areas, which will be hard pressed to find suitably qualified teachers.
  • Most tertiary institutions are teaching C++, Java, Python or other similar languages. Can you see universities switching to teaching Delphi? So where will the trained teachers required in future years come from?
  • The SA Computer Olympiad finalists have, in the main, either been self-taught or have come from schools where Java has been taught. This will change and may start to impact on SA’s standing in the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) and elsewhere. Over the past number of years, only Pascal and C++ have been used in the IOI, but there is a strong possibility that Java will be used as from 2014.
  • In South Africa, we are taking a step backwards into the past as far as the teaching of IT in schools is concerned. In the rest of the world, the move is to Java and now possibly Python. Delphi is hardly taught in any school system elsewhere in the world.
  • The Delphi bias is towards teaching “commercial computing”, ie there is always a database of some form behind what is being taught. We are not training learners about “scientific computing”, which this country desperately needs. Where does the STEM focus slot into this decision?
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http://mybroadband.co.za/news/government/88747-delphi-ms-office-forced-on-sa-schools.html
 
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reedOsama said:
Also schools get Office software free.
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Conflicts with :

IITPSA; said:
Many schools currently teaching CAT will not have the funding to move from MS Office 2003, MS Office 2007 or LibreOffice to the versions prescribed in the circular, and so could drop the subject. This could mean the numbers of learners taking CAT will start to decrease – and SA desperately needs IT-literate citizens.
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Edit: Actually that whole quote seems shaky now. Libre office is free so I don't get where this is comming from. You might be right on the MS thing.

Regardless, I feel this one will bite the local tech industry and lower standards of pre-teritary developers which will have a knock on effect. As it stands it is very hard finding top tier dev's in this country.
 
reedOsama said:
CAT's like computer literacy... learning how use excel, word documents, the internet etc.

I'm pretty sure the point of it is to know your way around a PC, the basic stuff. Therefore it would kinda be counterproductive to be teaching Linux when all your workplaces are using Windows -_-
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Thanks dude. Didn't realise they have a course like that. If it is something like that, then forcing people to use MS Office isn't so bad considering it is the industry standard?
 
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